AN ACT to amend and reenact section two, article one, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section five,
article two of said chapter, all relating to defining crow as
a gamebird; and setting hunting season for crows.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:That section two, article one, chapter twenty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; and that section five, article two of said
chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

§20-1-2. Definitions.As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:"Agency" means any branch, department or unit of the state
government, however designated or constituted.

"Alien" means any person not a citizen of the United States.

"Bag limit" or "creel limit" means the maximum number of
wildlife which may be taken, caught, killed or possessed by any
person."Bona fide resident, tenant or lessee" means a person who
permanently resides on the land."Citizen" means any native born citizen of the United States
and foreign born persons who have procured their final
naturalization papers."Closed season" means the time or period during which it shall
be unlawful to take any wildlife as specified and limited by the
provisions of this chapter."Commission" means the natural resources commission."Commissioner" means a member of the advisory commission of
the natural resources commission."Director" means the director of the division of natural
resources."Fishing" or "to fish" means the taking, by any means, of
fish, minnows, frogs or other amphibians, aquatic turtles and other
forms of aquatic life used as fish bait."Fur-bearing animals" include: (a) The mink; (b) the weasel;
(c) the muskrat; (d) the beaver; (e) the opossum; (f) the skunk and
civet cat, commonly called polecat; (g) the otter; (h) the red fox;
(i) the gray fox; (j) the wildcat, bobcat or bay lynx; (k) the
raccoon; and (l) the fisher."Game" means game animals, game birds and game fish as herein defined."Game animals" include: (a) The elk; (b) the deer; (c) the
cottontail rabbits and hares; (d) the fox squirrels, commonly
called red squirrels, and gray squirrels and all their color phases
- red, gray, black or albino; (e) the raccoon; (f) the black bear;
and (g) the wild boar."Game birds" include: (a) The anatidae, commonly known as
swan, geese, brants and river and sea ducks; (b) the rallidae,
commonly known as rails, sora, coots, mudhens and gallinales; (c)
the limicolae, commonly known as shorebirds, plover, snipe,
woodcock, sandpipers, yellow legs and curlews; (d) the galli,
commonly known as wild turkey, grouse, pheasants, quails and
partridges (both native and foreign species); (e) the columbidae,
commonly known as doves; (f) the icteridae, commonly known as
blackbirds, redwings and grackle; and (g) the corvidae, commonly
known as crows."Game fish" include: (a) Brook trout; (b) brown trout; (c)
rainbow trout; (d) golden rainbow trout; (e) largemouth bass; (f)
smallmouth bass; (g) spotted bass; (h) striped bass; (i) chain
pickerel; (j) muskellunge; (k) walleye; (l) northern pike; (m) rock
bass; (n) white bass; (o) white crappie; (p) black crappie; (q) all
sunfish species; (r) channel catfish; (s) flathead catfish; (t)
sauger; and (u) all game fish hybrids."Hunt" means to pursue, chase, catch or take any wild birds or
wild animals."Lands" means land, waters and all other appurtenances
connected therewith."Migratory birds" means any migratory game or nongame birds
included in the terms of conventions between the United States and
Great Britain and between the United States and United Mexican
States, known as the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act" for the protection
of migratory birds and game mammals concluded, respectively, the
sixteenth day of August, one thousand nine hundred sixteen, and the
seventh day of February, one thousand nine hundred thirty-six."Nonresident" means any person who is a citizen of the United
States and who has not been a domiciled resident of the state of
West Virginia for a period of thirty consecutive days immediately
prior to the date of his or her application for a license or permit
except any full-time student of any college or university of this
state, even though he or she is paying a nonresident tuition."Open season" means the time during which the various species
of wildlife may be legally caught, taken, killed or chased in a
specified manner and shall include both the first and the last day
of the season or period designated by the director."Person", except as otherwise defined elsewhere in this
chapter, means the plural "persons" and shall include individuals,
partnerships, corporations or other legal entities."Preserve" means all duly licensed private game farmlands, or
private plants, ponds or areas, where hunting or fishing is
permitted under special licenses or seasons other than the regular public hunting or fishing seasons."Protected birds" means all wild birds not included within the
definition of "game birds" and "unprotected birds"."Resident" means any person who is a citizen of the United
States and who has been a domiciled resident of the state of West
Virginia for a period of thirty consecutive days or more
immediately prior to the date of his or her application for license
or permit: Provided, That a member of the armed forces of the
United States who is stationed beyond the territorial limits of
this state, but who was a resident of this state at the time of his
or her entry into such service and any full-time student of any
college or university of this state, even though he or she is
paying a nonresident tuition, shall be considered a resident under
the provisions of this chapter."Roadside menagerie" means any place of business, other than
commercial game farm, commercial fish preserve, place or pond,
where any wild bird, game bird, unprotected bird, game animal or
fur-bearing animal is kept in confinement for the attraction and
amusement of the people for commercial purposes."Take" means to hunt, shoot, pursue, lure, kill, destroy,
catch, capture, keep in captivity, gig, spear, trap, ensnare, wound
or injure any wildlife, or attempt to do so."Unprotected birds" shall include: (a) The English sparrow;
(b) the European starling; and (c) the cowbird."Wild animals" means all mammals native to the state of West
Virginia occurring either in a natural state or in captivity,
except house mice or rats."Wild birds" shall include all birds other than: (a) Domestic
poultry - chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, peafowls and
turkeys; (b) psittacidae, commonly called parrots and parakeets;
and (c) other foreign cage birds such as the common canary, exotic
finches and ring dove. All wild birds, either: (a) Those occurring
in a natural state in West Virginia; or (b) those imported foreign
game birds, such as waterfowl, pheasants, partridges, quail and
grouse, regardless of how long raised or held in captivity, shall
remain wild birds under the meaning of this chapter."Wildlife" means wild birds, wild animals, game and
fur-bearing animals, fish (including minnows), reptiles,
amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans and all forms of aquatic life
used as fish bait, whether dead or alive."Wildlife refuge" means any land set aside by action of the
director as an inviolate refuge or sanctuary for the protection of
designated forms of wildlife.ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

§20-2-5. Unlawful methods of hunting and fishing and other
unlawful acts.

Except as authorized by the director, it is unlawful at any
time for any person to:(1) Shoot at or to shoot any wild bird or animal unless it is
plainly visible to him or her;(2) Dig out, cut out or smoke out, or in any manner take or
attempt to take, any live wild animal or wild bird out of its den
or place of refuge except as may be authorized by rules promulgated
by the director or by law;(3) Make use of, or take advantage of, any artificial light in
hunting, locating, attracting, taking, trapping or killing any wild
bird or wild animal, or to attempt to do so, while having in his or
her possession or subject to his or her control, or for any person
accompanying him or her to have in his or her possession or subject
to his or her control, any firearm, whether cased or uncased, bow,
arrow, or both, or other implement or device suitable for taking,
killing or trapping a wild bird or animal: Provided, That it may
not be unlawful to hunt or take raccoon, opossum or skunk by the
use of artificial lights. No person is guilty of a violation of
this subdivision merely because he or she looks for, looks at,
attracts or makes motionless a wild bird or wild animal with or by
the use of an artificial light, unless at the time he or she has in
his or her possession a firearm, whether cased or uncased, bow,
arrow, or both, or other implement or device suitable for taking,
killing or trapping a wild bird or wild animal, or unless the
artificial light (other than the head lamps of an automobile or
other land conveyance) is attached to, a part of, or used from within or upon an automobile or other land conveyance.Any person violating the provisions of this subdivision is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for
each offense be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more
than five hundred dollars and shall be imprisoned in the county
jail for not less than ten days nor more than one hundred days;(4) Hunt for, take, kill, wound or shoot at wild animals or
wild birds from an airplane, or other airborne conveyance, an
automobile, or other land conveyance, or from a motor-driven water
conveyance, except as authorized by rules promulgated by the
director;(5) Take any beaver or muskrat by any means other than by
trap;(6) Catch, capture, take or kill by seine, net, bait, trap or
snare or like device of any kind, any wild turkey, ruffed grouse,
pheasant or quail;(7) Destroy or attempt to destroy needlessly or willfully the
nest or eggs of any wild bird or have in his or her possession the
nest or eggs unless authorized to do so under rules promulgated by
or under a permit issued by the director;(8) Except as provided in section six of this article, carry
an uncased or loaded gun in any of the woods of this state except
during the open firearms hunting season for wild animals and
nonmigratory wild birds within any county of the state, unless he
or she has in his or her possession a permit in writing issued to him or her by the director: Provided, That this section shall not
prohibit hunting or taking of unprotected species of wild animals
and wild birds and migratory wild birds, during the open season, in
the open fields, open water and open marshes of the state;(9) Have in his or her possession a loaded firearm or a
firearm from the magazine of which all shells and cartridges have
not been removed, in or on any vehicle or conveyance, or its
attachments, within the state, except as may otherwise be provided
by law or regulation. Except as hereinafter provided, between five
o'clock postmeridian of one day and seven o'clock antemeridian,
eastern standard time of the day following, any unloaded firearm,
being lawfully carried in accordance with the foregoing provisions,
shall be so carried only when in a case or taken apart and securely
wrapped. During the period from the first day of July to the
thirtieth day of September, inclusive, of each year, the foregoing
requirements relative to carrying certain unloaded firearms are
permissible only from eight-thirty o'clock postmeridian to five
o'clock antemeridian, eastern standard time: Provided, That the
time periods for carrying unloaded and uncased firearms are
extended for one hour after the postmeridian times and one hour
before the antemeridian times established above if a hunter is
preparing to or in the process of transporting or transferring the
firearms to or from a hunting site, campsite, home or other place
of abode;(10) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue with
firearms or other implement by which wildlife may be taken after
the hour of five o'clock antemeridian on Sunday on private land
without the written consent of the landowner any wild animals or
wild birds except when a big game season opens on a Monday, the
Sunday prior to that opening day will be closed for any taking of
wild animals or birds after five o'clock antemeridian on that
Sunday: Provided, That traps previously and legally set may be
tended after the hour of five o'clock antemeridian on Sunday and
the person so doing may carry only a twenty-two caliber firearm for
the purpose of humanely dispatching trapped animals. Any person
violating the provisions of this subdivision is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any fines
that may be imposed by this or other sections of this code, shall
be subject to a one hundred dollar fine;(11) Hunt with firearms or long bow while under the influence
of intoxicating liquor;(12) Hunt, catch, take, kill, injure or pursue a wild animal
or bird with the use of a ferret;(13) Buy raw furs, pelts or skins of fur-bearing animals
unless licensed to do so;(14) Catch, take, kill or attempt to catch, take or kill any
fish at any time by any means other than by rod, line and hooks
with natural or artificial lures unless otherwise authorized by law or rules issued by the director: Provided, That snaring of any
species of suckers, carp, fallfish and creek chubs shall at all
times be lawful;(15) Employ or hire, or induce or persuade, by the use of
money or other things of value, or by any means, any person to
hunt, take, catch or kill any wild animal or wild bird except those
species on which there is no closed season, or to fish for, catch,
take or kill any fish, amphibian or aquatic life which is protected
by the provisions of this chapter or rules of the director or the
sale of which is prohibited;(16) Hunt, catch, take, kill, capture, pursue, transport,
possess or use any migratory game or nongame birds included in the
terms of conventions between the United States and Great Britain
and between the United States and United Mexican States for the
protection of migratory birds and wild mammals concluded,
respectively, the sixteenth day of August, one thousand nine
hundred sixteen, and the seventh day of February, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-six, except during the time and in the manner and
numbers prescribed by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.
S. C. §703, et seq., and regulations made thereunder;(17) Kill, take, catch or have in his or her possession,
living or dead, any wild bird, other than a game bird; or expose
for sale or transport within or without the state any bird except
as aforesaid. No part of the plumage, skin or body of any protected bird shall be sold or had in possession for sale except
mounted or stuffed plumage, skin, bodies or heads of the birds
legally taken and stuffed or mounted, irrespective of whether the
bird was captured within or without this state, except the English
or European sparrow (passer domesticus), starling (sturnus
vulgaris), and cowbird (molothrus ater), which may not be protected
and the killing thereof at any time is lawful;(18) Use dynamite
or any like explosive or poisonous mixture placed in any waters of
the state for the purpose of killing or taking fish. Any person
violating the provisions of this subdivision is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars or imprisoned for not less than six months nor more
than three years, or both fined and imprisoned;(19) Have a bow and gun, or have a gun and any arrow or
arrows, in the fields or woods at the same time;(20) Have a crossbow in the woods or fields or use a crossbow
to hunt for, take or attempt to take any wildlife;(21) Take or attempt to take turkey, bear, elk or deer with
any arrow unless the arrow is equipped with a point having at least
two sharp cutting edges measuring in excess of three fourths of an
inch wide;(22) Take or attempt to take any wildlife with an arrow having
an explosive head or shaft, a poisoned arrow or an arrow which
would affect wildlife by any chemical action;(23) Shoot an arrow across any public highway or from aircraft, motor-driven watercraft, motor vehicle or other land
conveyance;(24) Permit any dog owned by him or her or under his or her
control to chase, pursue or follow upon the track of any wild
animal or wild bird, either day or night, between the first day of
May and the fifteenth day of August next following: Provided, That
dogs may be trained on wild animals and wild birds, except deer and
wild turkeys, and field trials may be held or conducted on the
grounds or lands of the owner or by his or her bona fide tenant or
tenants or upon the grounds or lands of another person with his or
her written permission or on public lands at any time: Provided,
however, That nonresidents may not train dogs in this state at any
time except during the legal small game hunting season: Provided
further, That the person training said dogs does not have firearms
or other implements in his or her possession during the closed
season on wild animals and wild birds, whereby wild animals or wild
birds could be taken or killed;(25) Conduct or participate in a field trial,
shoot-to-retrieve field trial, water race or wild hunt hereafter
referred to as trial: Provided, That any person, group of persons,
club or organization may hold such trial at any time of the year
upon obtaining a permit as is provided for in section fifty-six of
this article. The person responsible for obtaining the permit
shall prepare and keep an accurate record of the names and addresses of all persons participating in said trial and make same
readily available for inspection by any conservation officer upon
request;(26) Except as provided in section four of this article, hunt,
catch, take, kill or attempt to hunt, catch, take or kill any wild
animal, wild bird or wild fowl except during the open season
established by rule of the director as authorized by subdivision
(6), section seven, article one of this chapter;(27) Hunting on public lands on Sunday after five o'clock
antemeridian is prohibited; and(28) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue with
firearms or other implement which wildlife can be taken, on private
lands on Sunday after the hour of five o'clock antemeridian:
Provided, That the provisions of this subdivision do not apply in
any county until the county commission of the county holds an
election on the question of whether the provisions of this
subdivision prohibiting hunting on Sunday shall apply within the
county and the voters approve the allowance of hunting on Sunday in
the county. The election is determined by a vote of the resident
voters of the county in which the hunting on Sunday is proposed to
be authorized. The county commission of the county in which Sunday
hunting is proposed shall give notice to the public of the election
by publication of the notice as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for the publication shall be
the county in which the election is to be held. The date of the
last publication of the notice shall fall on a date within the
period of the fourteen consecutive days next preceding the
election.On the local option election ballot shall be printed the
following:Shall hunting on Sunday be authorized in ________ County?

[] Yes

[] No

(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)
Any local option election to approve or disapprove of the proposed
authorization of Sunday hunting within a county shall be in
accordance with procedures adopted by the commission. The local
option election may be held in conjunction with a primary or
general election, or at a special election. Approval shall be by
a majority of the voters casting votes on the question of approval
or disapproval of Sunday hunting at the election.If a majority votes against allowing Sunday hunting, no
election on the issue may be held for a period of one hundred four
weeks. If a majority votes "yes", no election reconsidering the
action may be held for a period of five years. A local option
election may thereafter be held if a written petition of qualified
voters residing within the county equal to at least five percent of
the number of persons who were registered to vote in the next preceding general election is received by the county commission of
the county in which Sunday hunting is authorized. The petition may
be in any number of counterparts. The election shall take place at
the next primary or general election scheduled more than ninety
days following receipt by the county commission of the petition
required by this subsection: Provided, That the issue may not be
placed on the ballot until all statutory notice requirements have
been met. No local law or regulation providing any penalty,
disability, restriction, regulation or prohibition of Sunday
hunting may be enacted and the provisions of this article preempt
all regulations, rules, ordinances and laws of any county or
municipality in conflict with this subdivision.